16/05/2025
JUST BACK FROM SEOUL.
NO, I WAS NOT THERE FOR PLASTIC SURGERY!!!
Nowadays friends and patients going to South Korea will ask me what treatments they should do over there.
I’m actually quite surprised that they actually prefer doing facials to sight seeing, shopping, even gourmet meals ? Some were even contemplating minimal invasive beauty treatments like BOTOX, threadlifts, Fillers, HIFU, THERMAGE. Having seen patients who have returned from Seoul and to manage the post-operative complications, I’ve compiled a lists of MUST-Dos and MUST-NOT as a quick reference guide.
MUST-NOT DO
1. DON’t Go for the cheap promotion online or on bloggers post.
This is because there are some beauty companies in Seoul that cropped up specially to cater to tourists, meaning that they do not even have local clients. They worked closely with Tour agencies and middlemen like paid beauty bloggers to bring in unsuspecting overseas customers, whom are not expected to return ( one time customer) . The standard of treatments offered are typically subpar with what the ordinary South Koreans receive.

2. Never Go under anaesthesia
- There is an unknown risk for both surgery as well as anaesthesia, eg anaphylactic shock, airway spasm and other forms of drug reactions. To have these happening to you in a strange country, with very little knowledge of their healthcare and legal system, put you at a great disadvantage and health risk.
If offered, Inform the doctor that you prefer to be awake and have local anaesthesia, which can be performed with injections or application of creams to the areas to be treated, like the face, on the neck etc
3. Never book a surgical procedure to be done on the same day of consultation.
As we all know, well known surgeons ALWAYS have a long waitlist, and require advance booking. If you are encouraged to go for surgery on the very same day, you are unlikely to be in a popular clinic, or worse still, you are getting treatment by a GHOST DOCTOR.
4. Avoid invasive treatments like surgical face lift,nose implant or even threadlift that can drastically change your appearance, without proper consultation in advance. Ideally with a trained interpreter.
Typically you should go through several sessions of consultations to discuss suitable options, benefits and risks, recovery journey.
Remember-once these surgeries are performed, it is almost impossible to reverse the treatment. And you have to fly back again, incur all the flight, hotel and time cost to consult your surgeon and to try to rectify any problems. Therefore any savings you got would be completely erased when problems arise.
MUST-DOs
I’m sure travel bloggers have a much longer list.
Mine is pretty short as typically I only go Seoul for 3-5 days per trip for work, though it is to explore all the latest aesthetic options for that period.
1. Shop and try the bewilderingly huge range of makeup in Seoul. Rumours say, there is a new brand popping up every month, with new packaging design and brand story to attract the consumers. Whether they are really having new skincare benefits remain to be seen.
2.Choose to buy from the tax-free shops to save yourself the long tax refund queues in the airport.
3.Try the seasonal cuisines -like now you can get cool noodles for summer, and especially
4.BBQ han-woo or korean beef is a must as it is not exported.
Hope this helps to save my friends unnecessary woes!
